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5 Ways You’re Sitting Wrong at Your Desk: Avoid the Mistakes

By Payal
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The modern work culture is all about sitting at your desk for at least a few hours at a stretch. It might seem to be a comfortable task, but has adverse effects on your body. It can be a painful experience if you do not know the right ways of sitting at your desk. Your back, shoulder, hand and every body part might ache day after day.

Looking at various sources, you will get different advice about proper desk or chair ergonomics. But not all of them are capable of providing you with the comfort that your body needs. So if you really wish to make an impact on your personal experience, here are the 5 ways of doing so.

These are the simple things that you should do apart from purchasing ergonomic furniture. Of course an anti-fatigue standing desk mat can bring in a lot of difference. But, your schedule and postures should also be healthy. Doing these things will not cost you anything but have a great positive impact on your health. Keep on reading the article to know more.

Sitting the right way at your desk

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We spend a lot of time sitting in front of our computers, so our postures at the desk can greatly impact our health. Sitting in the right way is not an expensive or difficult task. But there is a lot of information and misinformation that can confuse you. Here are the right ways of sitting at the desk that will benefit your health.

Wrong 1- Sitting up perfectly straight

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Sitting up straight at your desk might look ergonomic and professional, but it has a bad impact on your health. It definitely feels okay to sit straight in the beginning but with time it starts putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on your spine.

Instead, adjust your chair in a reclining position.The back of your chair should help to support your bodyweight. Even the slightest tilt can make a lot of difference in your comfort level for a long period of time.

Wrong 2- Adjusting the chair height based on your legs and feet

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The first thing most of us do when we get an office chair is adjust its height. We tend to adjust it to such a level that our feet stay firmly on the ground. Well, it’s not correct at all. In fact, you should adjust your seat depending on where your keyboard and mouse are.

Most of the desks are fixed, which means the position of your mouse and keyboard cannot be changed. Thus, it is the seat that needs to be adjusted. Position it too low and your arms will pinch the desk. Position it too high and you will end up bending your wrist.

So, adjust the chair at proper height with elbows by your side. The hand should be in a straight line to work with your keyboard and mouse. After that if you feel that your feet are too short to reach the ground, keep a foot rest. You can also use any other object to rest your feet.

Wrong 3- Buying desk with built-in drawers

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Desks with the built-in drawers might look good and feel convenient, but they prevent you from sitting correctly at the desk. If you have read the last tip, you will notice that after making the adjustments, your arms and legs are not very distant from one another. You will only have a couple of inches to work with here.

So thick desks with big drawers in the middle will prevent you from making this adjustment perfectly. Your knees will get banged into the desk several times, which can really hurt you.

Wrong 4- Using wrist rest

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Your wrist should remain floating over the desk while you work on the keyboard. It should not be placed on a hard surface. This would work for a while, but once you feel the fatigue, you will end up keeping the wrist on the desk or use a wrist rest

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The problem here is, you will be putting a lot of pressure on your wrist. It has sensitive nerves and exposed veins for blood flow. Instead, when you use these accessories, it should support the palms of your hand and not the wrist. Your palms are less sensitive to the pressure of holding up your arms. It will also keep the rest of your hand in line.

Thus, make adjustments to keep your palm and wrist in line. Do not put any unwanted pressure on your wrist. You can also use low profile keyboards to support the entire arm on the desk. It will help to keep everything in line.

Wrong 5- Standing desks are better

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Standing desks are getting extremely popular these days. But remember, standing the whole day is as bad as sitting for the whole day. The worst part here is, you are stationary for a long period of time. The best thing to do here will be to change your position as frequently as possible.

You can do the following things:

  • Move your foot rest around
  • Change the recline on your chair
  • Stand up for a bit, if you can
  • Or, just walk away from the desk to grab some water

Conclusion

These are probably the most common 5 ways you are working incorrectly with your desk. These are pretty easy to fix. And doing them will give you a better ergonomic experience. Also, having a good chair that matches your body is also pretty important here. So, you should make the purchase with efficiency.